Means for applying surgical gloves



1386- 1933- H. E. BREULS ET AL MEANS FOR APPLYING SURGICAL GLOVES Filed July 16, 1931 Im/cmors Harold BB r'eu/S Patented Dec. 12, 1933 UNITED STATES MEANS FOR APPLYING SURGICAL GLOVES Harold E. Breuls and Robert W. Breuls, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Application July 16, 1931. Serial No. 551,192

9 Claims.

The principal objects of this invention are, to overcome the difficulties met with by surgeons and nurses in the placing of rubber gloves upon the hands or removal thereof and to permit of applying the gloves to both hands in a sterile condition.

A further object is to eliminate the loss of time occasioned in the ordinary method of removing or placing of such gloves upon the hands.

A still further and important object is to effect a saving in gloves by avoiding the destruction of same through tearing in putting them on, and also to show when gloves are defective through perforations which cannot ordinarily be seen.

The principal features of the invention consist in the novel arrangement of a chamber into which the glove to be worn is inserted and in which a partial vacuum is created to effect the enlargement of the glove in such a manner that the hand may be readily inserted thereinto.

A further important feature consists in providing a simple means for creating a partial vacuum in the glove holding receptacle, and further in arranging a pair of receptacles connected with a common vacuum creating device, and means for selectively connecting the vacuum device with either of said receptacles.

In the drawing, Figure 1 is a front elevational part sectional view of a cabinet in which an apparatus constructed in accordance with this invention is contained.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross sectional view taken partly midway through the cabinet.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the cabinet.

In the practice of surgery it is necessary for surgeons and nurses to protect themselves and the patient against infection by the use of rubber gloves. These gloves are required to be sterilized and it is a difficult and tedious operation to place the sterilized gloves upon the hands without affecting their sterility or without tearing the glove. Further the high percentage of loss of gloves through such tearing is obviated by the use of the present invention.

In the construction of apparatus herein shown a cabinet 1 is provided with a platform 2 ar- 7 ranged intermediate of its height and upon this platform is supported a pair of jars 3 which form the receptacles for the gloves. These containers are preferably provided with a reduced neck portion 4 and the inner diameter of the rim 5 is sufficiently large to allow the easy insertion of the hand. The rubber glove which has been properly sterilized is dropped finger end down into the jar and the wrist portion is turned back and stretched over the rim 5. The glove thus seals the jar.

It is preferable to insert the rubber glove within a large glove made of a coarse open mesh fabric which is sterilized with a rubber glove and forms a protective casing around the glove when it is placed in the jar and when a partial vacuum is created in the jar, the rubber glove which seals the jar is expanded under the atmospheric pressure on the inside thereof until it is enlarged to such an extent that it completely fills under pressure the surrounding fabric glove. The surrounding fabric glove prevents the unequal expansion of portions of the glove so that the palm or body portion is sealed within the limits of the surrounding fabric, while the pressure expands the fingers.

When the glove is in this position the person desiring to apply the glove simply inserts the hand into the open top and the fingers pass freely into the finger portions of the gloves until they touch the ends. The vacuum is then released and the glove contracts and fits snugly upon the hand.

Many different forms of apparatus may be used in conjunction with a vacuum chamber such as described, but in the accompanying drawings is shown a simple means for creating a partial vacuum in'the form of a bellows 6 A tube '7 connects the bellows with a two-way valve 8 of the simple rotary type and branch tubes 9 and 10 connect the valve chamber with the respective right and left hand jars 3.

.A lever 11 is secured at one end of the spindle of the valve 8. and. a pin 12 on the free end of said lever engages the slotted end of the lever 13 which is pivoted within the casing intermediate of its length.

The bellows 6 is operated with a foot lever 14 connected by a cord 15 which extends around a pair of pulleys 16 and 17. When the lever 14 is depressed the cord 15 pulls the bellows downwardly against the tension of the suspended springs 18 and a vacuum is created which exhausts the air from either one or other of the jars 3 in accordance with the position of the valve 8.

The lever 13 is preferably forked to straddle the bellows operating lever 14 and the operator by pressing the lever 14 to either one side or the other swings the ,lever 13 on its pivot to rotate the valve 8 and connect whichever jar is desired.

This arrangement of the valve is not necessary as both gloves may be placed in the separate jars at the same time and the single operation of the bellows, or other vacuum creating device, will expand the gloves in both receptacles at the same time and the hands may be inserted both together or separate as may be desired. It may of course be found desirable in many instances to use a single glove unit.

It will be understood that the'present'invention is equally applicable to the putting on or removal of gloves from the hand, in the latter case it being merely necessary to insert the gloved hands within the chamber, sealing the opening and expanding the glove, whereupon the hands may be withdrawn with case from the gloves.

The construction of apparatus-as herein shown forms a very simple and cheap form of device, which may be utilized in any desirable place, but it will be readily appreciated that the form of the apparatus may be varied 'to avery great extent without departing from the spirit of the invention which rests in the use of a vacuum chamber to expand the glove so that the hand may be readily inserted thereinto or removed therefrom as the case may be.

What we claim as our invention is:-

1. Means for applying a surgical glove comprising a pair of receptacles having open mouths adapted to be sealed by gloves, passages leading from said receptacles, a bellows connected with said passages, a valve interposed between said bellows and receptacles to control said passages, means for operating the bellows, and means for changing the position of said valve.

2. Means for expanding resilient surgical gloves, comprising a vacuum chamber having an opening through which the finger end of the glove is inserted, and means enclosing said glove and conforming to the shape thereof for permitting a restricted expansion of the glove within said chamber and for retaining said resilient glove in its desired glove form when in its expanded condition.

3. Means for expanding resilient surgical gloves to facilitate putting on and taking off the same, comprising a vacuum chamber having an opening adapted to be sealed around the glove, and means for restricting the expansion of the glove, said means comprising a perforate fingered form loosely'enclosing the resilient glove to permit expansion thereof to a predetermined abnormal size, said form being larger than the hand to which the glove is to be applied whereby the hand may be placed in the glove with ease.

4. Means for expanding resilient surgical gloves to facilitate putting on and taking oif the same, comprising a vacuum chamber having an opening adapted to be sealed around the glove, and means for restricting the expansion of the glove, said means comprising an air-permeable enclosure member formed with body and finger portions'corresponding to the body and finger porticns of said glove into which the rubber glove is inserted and having internal dimensions greater than the normal external dimensions of the corresponding portions of said resilient glove whereby said resilient glove when subjected to the vacuum condition within said chamber is permitted to expand to a predetermined abnormal size within said fingered enclosure memthe hand and finger ber, the latter retaining the expanded glove against excessive expansion.

5. Means for expanding resilient surgical gloves to facilitate putting on and taking off the same, comprising a receptacle having a narrowed mouth adapted to permit the turning thereover of the wrist portion of the rubber glove, a fabric glove encasing the rubber glove and having hand and -finger portions corresponding to portions of the resilient glove and of greater dimensions to permit predetermined expansion of the hand and finger portions of the resilient glove therein, and means for producing a partial vacuum within said receptacle to effect the expansion of said glove within its fabric casing.

6. The method of applying resilient surgical gloves to or removing same from the hand comprising applying over the glove a perforate protective glove-shaped form having internal dimensions'greater than the normal external dimensions of said resilient glove whereby the latter is permitted free expansion to an abnormal size within said protective form, then subjecting said resilient glove to a lesser external pressure than internal to effect its expansion to a size determined by said protective form to facilitate the insertion or removal of the hand.

'7. The method of applying resilient surgical gloves to the hands consisting in first applying over the glove an air-permeable protective gloveshaped form having internal dimensions greater than the normal external dimensions of the resilient glove, extending the protected glove into a chamber through an opening in the wall thereof, sealing the opening peripherally with the wrist portion of the glove, then partially evacuating said chamber to effect an expansion of said resilient glove to an abnormal size within the protected form, then inserting the hand through said chamber opening and into the expanded glove, finally raising the pressure in the chamber to permit contraction of the expanded glove on to the hand and the removal of the gloved hand from the container and form.

8. A means for expanding resilient surgical gloves to facilitate application and removal thereof, comprising a hollow glove-shaped form member having internal dimensions greater than the external dimensions of the glove and adapted to receive and permit limited expansion of the same, and means for extracting air from the space between said glove and enclosing form to effect the expansion of the glove.

9. A method of facilitating application and removal of resilient gloves by the vacuum chamber principle comprising placing the resilient glove within an outer flexible air-permeable glove-shaped form, inserting the form-covered glove within a vacuum chamber, turning the wrist band portions of the form and glove back over the outer surface of the vacuum chamber with the resilient wrist band stretched and overlying the turned-back portion of the form to support the form and glove in the chamber and form a substantial seal with the chamber wall, and reducing the pressure in the vacuum chamber to expand the resilient glove within the protective covering form.

HAROLD E. BREULS. ROBERT W. BREULS. 

